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Jorge Luis Borges, and The New Bohemians, on Life and Travel

While working on New Bohemians today I ran across this previous post. The quote from Jorge Luis Borges evoked memories: they flashed across my inner travel screen, not in pixels, but in soft amorphous remembered images, scents, labored lungs and heart, sweat soaked, cold shivers; wind cooled and sun warmed. Smiles from faces never to be seen again… I thought I’d re-post. Share.

“Through the years, a man peoples a space with images of provinces, kingdoms, mountains, bays,

ships, islands, fishes, rooms, tools, stars, horses and people. Shortly before his death, he discovers that the patient labyrinth of lines traces the image of his own face.”-Jorge Luis Borges

Claire found this quote In World Wide Travelers, Birds of a Feather group newsletter, of the Escapees recreational vehicle club. The editor, Kathy Howe puts together a great monthly newsletter from Escapees who travel abroad.
My take: We live our lives not in our homes, spectacular or humble, not in our careers, renowned or unheeded; comely or homely, wealthy or underprivileged, we experience life through our emotions. To a great degree we determine, by our choices, the emotions we experience. Travel, markedly independent travel, lifts us from our daily milieu, out of our comfort zone, stretches us in untold ways, and surges us with unfamiliar emotions.

Often, due to The New Bohemians’ penchant for bicycle travel in the developing world, we are confronted with discomfort, sometimes a modicum of danger, fear, unknown foods, and disagreeable hygienic conditions. We meet those challenges to our normal way of living with a fresh eye to new learning, and a relinquishing of preconceptions of how thing “ought” to be. Humor is a tool to be kept close at hand, at least in retrospect.